Si Satchanalai, on the west bank of the Yom River some 40 miles north of Sukhothai, was a Khmer military outpost and administrative center. It was overthrown by Thai military forces during the same campaign that brought Sukhothai under Thai control, around 1247 AD. As a satellite of Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai flourished, and many fine temples were built there during Sukhothai’s golden era. The pervasive influence of Sri Lanka, both directly and via Burma and the Mon, may be seen in the many temples with characteristic Sri-Lankan-style bell-shaped 'chedi' or stupas—not only in Si Satchanalai but throughout the Sukhothai kingdom and the Lanna north as well—a style that ultimately would become the norm at temples throughout much of Thailand. In Si Satchanalai, however, the influence of Sukhothai is also apparent in both some of its architectural and sculptural forms.

Stucco reliefs on the wall of the viharn, or assembly hall, at Wat Nong Phaya

Wat Nong Phaya

In 1285, with his son ruler of the city, Ramkhamhaeng is said to have built the enormous Sinhalese–style stupa at Si Satchanalai’s Wat Chang Lom to house relics of the Buddha. The relic chamber rises above two square supporting tiers, the lower of which was encircled by 36 laterite-and-stucco elephants (the name means 'temple surrounded by elephants'), now in such a state of disintegration as to be unrecognizable as such.

Wat Chang Lom

Wat Chang Lom

Wat Khok Singkharam is in Chaliang, an ancient town that predates the founding of neighboring Si Satchanalai. The existing ruins of its stupas show the influence of Sri Lanka in their bell-shaped relic chambers.

Wat Khok Singkharam

Also in neighboring Chaliang are the laterite ruins of a Khmer temple, Wat Chao Chan, dating from the 13th century.

Wat Chao Chan

Wat Chao Chan

Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat Chaliang, originally a Khmer sanctuary dating from the 13th century, later restored and altered during the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods